Travels in the 2nd half

  For many years, Puerto Rico’s main art museum was the Museo de Arte de Ponce. It is the largest museum of European art in the Caribbean. In fact, for most of Puerto Rico’s history, there was no major museum dedicated to artists from the island. In 1995, the government of Puerto Rico announced their plan to convert a former hospital in the Santurce neighborhood of San Juan into a museum to exhibit art produced by Puerto Rican artists throughout its history. In 2000, the Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico opened. The main exhibit at the museum this year is Puerto Rico Plural. This is a show of works from the museum’s permanent collection. It showcases the many facets of Puerto Rican identity through art from the Eighteenth century to today.  La Plena by Rafael Trifuño The exhibit begins with La Plena, a mutual by Rafael Trifuño. La Plena celebrates the history and music of Puerto Rico. Cortaron a Elena by Rafael Trifuño La Guagua by Lorenzo Homar Nuestra Señora de Belen by Jose Cam...

  The New York Times runs a weekly column offering suggestions of things to do if you were to have on and a half days to spend in a particular place. In 2019, after Hurricane Maria and before Covid, the Gray Lady offered their suggestions of places to see and restaurants to visit in San Juan, Puerto Rico . On a recent trip, I decided to see how well those suggestions stand up after five years. Coffee in Santurce The Times had three suggestions for breakfast and or a coffee break in the Santurce neighborhood. The first is Hacienda San Pedro , on Avenida José de Diego, across from the Museo del Arte. The Hacienda is a coffee farm near the town of Jayuya, in the mountains of Puerto Rico, and this shop sells wonderful coffee made from their own beans. It a smooth coffee, like most native Puerto Rican roasts. The shop has comfortable indoor seating, along with a patio with more seats outside.   Museo del Arte Another choice is Cafe con Cé , on Avenida Loiza. Cafe con Cé is one of s...

  Voyages by Imna Arroyo Cora   One of my favorite places to visit in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico, is the Museo de las Americas . Located in the Cuartel de Ballajá, the old barracks, just outside of El Morro, the museum presents a look at the of the island and of all of Latin America. I have visited on several occasions, and you can read about their permanent exhibits here .   This fall I had the opportunity to see two exhibitions of works by contemporary artists of Puerto Rican descent. The first was Quién Profanó la Mansión Georgetti? (Who Desecrated the Georgetti Mansion?) by Eddie Faraioli (b. 1950).    Eduardo Georgetti   Eduardo Georgetti (1866-1937) was the son of a family of landowners, and he became one of the largest sugar barons in Puerto Rico. In 1923 he had a mansion built in the Santurce neighborhood of San Juan. At the time it was considered on of the greatest mansions in the Caribbean. Georgette died in 1937, and his wife in 1938. In 1955, th...